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Sol Phryne
The Sol Phryne was a ferry of Sol Maritime Services Ltd. She was bought by the Palestine Liberation Organisation and sunk on 16 February 1988. The Sol Phryne was built in Japan in 1947 as Taisetsu Maru. From 1967 to 1974, she was owned by Efthymiades Line and used for regular ferry duties between Greek islands as Eolis. In 1974, she was purchased by Sol Maritime Services Ltd., renamed Sol Phryne and was then used in the Middle East, notably evacuating Palestinian guerrillas from Beirut in 1982. She was sunk during an attempt to ferry Palestinian deportees to Haifa, Israel. Voyage The 6,151-ton Sol Phryne was purchased in some secrecy by the Palestine Liberation Organisation and renamed Al Awda ("the Return"). The PLO planned to symbolically ferry 135 Palestinian deportees and, if they accepted the short notice invitation, hundreds of journalists and other observers, to the port of Haifa for a "journey of return" echoing the journey of the ''Exodus''.Middle East Land for Peace?, Time 29 February 1988Blast Disables P.L.O.'s 'Exodus' Ferry in Port New York Times, 16 February 1988 Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Rabin stated that Israel would oppose the voyage "in whatever ways we find, while Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir labeled the journey "a declaration of war".P.L.O. Scuttles ship plans, New York Times, 18 February 1988 A different, chartered ship had been scheduled to sail from Piraeus on 9 February, but the departure was postponed several times because Greek ship owners feared commercial retaliations from Israel if their vessel was used. With this difficulty chartering a ship, on 13th Feb 1988 the PLO purchased the aging Sol Phryne in Limassol, Cyprus at auction for $600,000. By the time of the sinking the crew of the ship had not been informed of the new owners. On 15 February, three high-ranking military officials of the PLO were assassinated in Limassol by a remote-controlled bomb planted on their car.P.L.O. 'Exodus' Ferry Faces a Sea of Trouble New York Times 17 February 1988. Verified 28th Aug 2008. 18 hours later, on the night of the 15th February, a limpet mine Melman, Yossi and Raviv, Dan (1989). The imperfect spies: the history of Israeli intelligence. Sidgwick & Jackson, p. 24.ISBN 0283997109 attached to the hull exploded and holed a fuel tank of the Sol Phryne, flooding it and causing the ship to list. No casualties were reportedPORT OF LIMASSOL, CYPRUS (34-40N 33-03E) 15 FEBRUARY 1988. 1988 Anti-Shipping Activity Messages. Verified 28th Aug 2008. but this ended the attempt. Yassar Arafat alleged that this was done by Israeli frogmen but did not provide any evidence to support his claim,`Day of rage' ends in relative calm as Palestinians strike by Michael Ross and Charles P. Wallace. Los Angeles Times, 17 February 1988 The Sol Phryne was raised and transferred to Bijela, in Yugoslavia. As Time reported, "Israel officially denied complicity in the car bombing but hardly bothered to conceal its role in disabling the ferry" and suspicions of Israeli involvement were further reinforced when Israeli Transport Minister Chaim Corfu threatened that, if a further attempt was made by the PLO, "its fate will be the same". Fuad al-Bitar, Athens representative of the PLO told an Athens news conference that "it is clear that the only one interested" in the sabotage was Israel. In July 2008, Haaretz referred to this attack, without admitting Israeli responsibility, in the context of the threatenedIsrael may use force to halt boat trying to break Gaza siege Haaretz 17th Aug 2008. Verified 28th Aug 2008. but ultimately successful "Free Gaza" breaking of Israel's blockade of Gaza.U.S. leftists confirm plans to sail to Gaza to break siege, Haaretz 29th July 2008. Verified 28th Aug 2008. Three claims of responsibility were made, two of them being: * an anonymous caller, claiming to be from the Palestine Salvation Front because "rejected many times Yasir Arafat's idea to arrange this propaganda trip" - denied by Abdul Hadi al-Nahhad for the Damascus-based group and by the PLO. * a telephone call received by the Associated Press claimed the attack for the Jewish Defence League See also *Gaza flotilla raid Notes and references External links * U.S. leftists confirm plans to sail to Gaza to break siege, Haaretz * [http://www.faktaomfartyg.nu/taisetsu_maru_1948.htm S/S Taisetsu Maru] (Swedish) Category:International maritime incidents Category:Espionage scandals and incidents Category:Ship bombings Category:Maritime incidents in 1988 Category:Ships built in Japan Category:1948 ships